Weiner was sexting after resignation

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NEW YORK – Anthony Weiner admitted Thursday to sexting relationships with at least three women after resigning from Congress over such misbehavior, while a new poll showed support for his New York City mayoral bid plunging amid the latest revelations.

Weiner’s favorability rating among registered Democrats has plunged to 30 percent, from 52 percent in June, according to the NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll taken Wednesday – the day after news broke about his post-congressional sexting. His unfavorability rating shot up to 55 percent. It was 36 percent in June.

–MCT News Service

He also dropped to second place in the Sept. 10 primary fight, trailing City Council Speaker Christine Quinn 25 percent to 16 percent.

–MCT News Service

Weiner’s admissions have fueled a growing chorus demanding he quit the New York City mayoral race. He has rebuffed calls to leave the race.

The 22-year-old Indiana woman, named in several reports as Sydney Leathers, whose online relationship last year with Weiner surfaced earlier this week planned to go public Thursday, said Nik Richie of thedirty.com.

Richie’s website, which published transcripts of their exchanges, posted new, uncensored photos Weiner sent her of his private parts using the sexting name “Carlos Danger.”

Weiner, 48, was confronted with questions of how many women he had engaged in illicit online relationships at a campaign stop Thursday morning at a Midwood soup kitchen, and struggled to answer.

Asked how many occurred after the revelations of his extra-marital cyber-sex habit forced him out of Congress in June 2011, Weiner said, “I don’t believe I had any more than three.”

He was hazier on the total before and after that scandal erupted.

“There are more than ... there are, there are a few. I don’t have a specific number for you,” he said, grim-faced and stumbling over his words. “It’s not dozens and dozens, it’s six to 10, I suppose, but I can’t tell you absolutely what someone else is going to consider inappropriate.”

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He spoke at a news conference held after he volunteered to cook in the soup kitchen — an event planned to introduce his plan for a “non-profit czar” in his administration.

Before he spoke, a woman who said she lived in the neighborhood came in the kitchen saying she planned to heckle him.

“A piece of dirt in a Jewish place like this? We don’t want him here.” But she left without confronting him.

Weiner insisted he has kicked his sexting habits — which included graphic accounts of sexual fantasies and X-rated photos.

“And it wasn’t until they were behind me that I decided to run for mayor,” he said.

“I understand that might not be a satisfying answer, that people might want names and serial numbers and dates and texts, but someone else might have to provide that for you, because I’m not going to.”

Weiner conceded on Wednesday that he should have been more forthcoming about his post-Congress behavior.

His campaign sent an email apology to supporters almost 24 hours after thedirty.com report revealed that he had carried on a steamy relationship with a woman he knew only online.

“I regret not saying explicitly when these exchanges happened,” he wrote, concluding: “New Yorkers don’t quit, and I’ll never quit on you.”

In an interview with Politico, the woman, who withheld her real name, said they had connected after Weiner contacted her on Facebook. Amid graphic sex talk, he promised to get her a job with Politico and a condo in Chicago, Politico reported. She said the two engaged in phone sex “frequently.”